


worlds collide

by helsinkibaby



Series: peace comes dropping slow [5]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010), Magnum P.I. (TV 2018)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Het, Missing Scenes, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:22:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,951
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28463073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helsinkibaby/pseuds/helsinkibaby
Summary: When Five-0 and Magnum work on a case together, it takes a turn Noelani wasn’t expecting
Relationships: Noelani Cunha/Steve McGarrett
Series: peace comes dropping slow [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1988524
Comments: 1
Kudos: 19





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Part of my “Peace Comes Dropping Slow” universe where basically I rewatched the crossover after posting the fic and things happened

When her office door opened with only the briefest of knocks, Noelani looked up, knowing she probably had a fifty-fifty shot at guessing who it would be. Usually it was Magnum, sailing in with confectionery in his hands and pleas for favours on his lips. Occasionally, it was Steve and those encounters could be official or, depending on the lateness of the hour and the success rate of whatever case Five-0 were working on, decidedly not.

She blinked in surprise though when Tani Rey and Juliet Higgins walked in. “Wow." Her head moved between the two of them, feeling an odd sense of vertigo, like two of her worlds were colliding. It felt oddly like being in grade school and seeing your teacher on the weekend. "You are two people I am not used to seeing together.”

“Yeah.” Tani’s lips twisted in a grin. “Well, that’s what happens when our suspected associate of a psychotic arms dealer has a wife who thinks he’s up to no good.” 

“And then said wife hires myself and Magnum to prove that he’s having an affair.” Higgins took up the tale. “We were across the street, watching, at the same time as Five-0 arrived and a shoot-out ensued ..”

“Which obviously did not end well for Daniel Hong...” Tani interjected, gesturing towards Noelani's autopsy room. 

“Indeed. However, since Magnum stuffed up with the SD card in our camera and therefore have no surveillance photographs, we are helping Five-0 with their enquiries.” 

Noelani was nodding as Higgins spoke but it took a second for her to make the connection and then the obvious leap. “Wait a minute... if you two are here... where is Magnum right now?” 

Tani narrowed her eyes, obviously not understanding. “He’s with McGarrett, checking out Daniel Hong’s house while his widow is here.” 

For once, Noelani ignored the casual implication of breaking and entering in favour of a far more important development. “You mean you’re telling me Steve and Magnum are together right now, and are working this case together?” Both of the other women nodded, looking equally confused, their faces growing more so as Noelani felt a grin breaking across her lips. “So which one of you two is going to video tape them for me so I can see this for myself?” Higgins tilted her head while Tani started to grin. “Oh please, don’t judge me, you have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for this day; the way Magnum gets himself into trouble, it was only ever a matter of time...”

“Wait a second...” Higgins was staring at Noelani like things were starting to fall into place. “Steve. Steve McGarrett.” Her jaw dropped ever so slightly which, for Higgins, was the equivalent of anyone else falling to their knees in shock. “Are you telling me that Commander McGarrett is Steve? As in, your Steve?” 

Tani answered even as Noelani was nodding, blushing furiously at Higgins’s referral of Steve as “hers”. “Yeah,” Tani said. “They’ve been together for months now. It’s actually kinda nauseating.” It was a familiar tease and her eyes sparkled, Noelani not taking offence in the least. “You didn’t know?”

“I knew you had a boyfriend called Steve who was a cop” Higgins began and _that_ had Tani’s jaw dropping. 

“You tell your friends that Steve is a cop?” She sounded like she couldn’t believe it and Noelani knew why. “Mr ‘Don’t Call Me A Cop, I’m a Navy SEAL’?” She crossed her arms over her chest. “He’s gonna love that.” 

Noelani gave her a look. She tended to tell people that Steve was a cop because it was easier than explaining the whole Navy SEAL running a task force thing. She just didn't do it while Steve was around, for the exact reason Tani had just mentioned. “Tani...”

“Oh, I’m not telling him.” Tani held both her hands up. “Mainly because I don’t want to be there when he finds out.” She places great and deliberate emphasis on each of the last three words. 

"And you know I can keep a secret." Higgins might not quite have understood what was going on but, friend that she was, played along anyway. Noelani made a mental note to buy the first round the next time they were all out at Rick's. "But is this your way of telling me that McGarrett's a by the book kind of man who's going to shoot Magnum in about five minutes?" 

Noelani and Tani looked at one another for a split second, then burst out laughing. "McGarrett's been known to get confessions by hanging suspects over roof ledges," Tani told her when they'd stopped, and Higgins actually blanched. "So, no, probably not." 

"They both have a... unique way of doing things," Noelani added. "I'm just not sure if their unique ways will exactly complement each other. Plus, they're both Navy SEALs, both used to being in charge..." Higgins actually looked affronted, but Noelani wasn't thinking about that, not when something else had occurred to her. "Whose car did they take?" 

Tani frowned. "Must have been Magnum's. We left at the same time and I didn't see them heading towards Steve's truck... wait, why are you laughing? Is Magnum's car a wreck or something?"

Noelani pulled herself together with difficulty. "Oh, the opposite," she said. "But I don't know how Steve will go back to driving Danny's Camaro after driving a Ferrari."

Tani's jaw dropped. "Seriously? McGarrett gets to drive a Ferrari?" 

"No..." Higgins was frowning. "Magnum drives the Ferrari, it belongs to Robin Masters, our boss... why would Steve be driving Magnum's car?"

"He always drives," Noelani told her.

"It's kind of his thing," Tani agreed. 

"Control issues," Noelani added, then, with a sharp glance at Tani, "which I am allowed to say because he can't fire me." Her gaze swung back to Higgins then, who, even with her English Rose complexion, seemed paler than usual. "Don't worry, Steve's a good driver." Tani snorted; Noelani just ignored her. "I'm sure the Ferrari will be just fine." 

"Well, it wouldn't be the first time Magnum's had to get it repaired," Higgins muttered, more to herself than to either Noelani or Tani. Then her face brightened. "Although it does have a dash cam... would you like me to see if I can hack into it and send you any footage of the two of them together?"

Noelani grinned. "I knew I liked you."


	2. Chapter 2

“So do we know when Mrs Hong will be home?” Magnum was looking at his watch, then up the street as if he was expecting Erin Hong to appear at any moment. Either that or he was looking for his friends but since he’d barely hung up the phone from them, Steve didn’t like his chances. 

“Tani said she was doing paperwork at the ME’s office,” Steve told him, remembering the exact words she’d used. “It’s possible it might take a while.” 

Magnum’s head turned sharply in his direction, his eyes narrowed. “You mean I’m going to owe Noelani another favour?” 

There was a lot to unpack in that one sentence but Steve went for the obvious one. Turning his gaze to Magnum, he raised one eyebrow. "You know Noelani?"

He thought he'd done a good job of keeping his voice neutral, but maybe not, not if the way Magnum tilted his head was anything to go by. "Yeah." A pause as he cocked his head to the other side, reminding Steve of Eddie for a moment. "Sure... she’s a friend of mine."

And just like that, Steve saw in his mind's eye, a shelf in Noelani's house, a set of books by Robin Masters, heard his own voice saying the exact words he'd said to Magnum earlier. "No way a guy this cocky makes it through BUD/S." Saw Noelani's Mona Lisa smile changing to a grin as he asked her, "Are you hanging out with other Navy SEALs who aren't me?" Heard her reply with a question, "Are you jealous?" and the shock on her face when he replied, "Yes." 

"You okay, man?" Magnum was looking at him strangely and Steve nodded, screwing up his eyes and shaking his head. 

"Just distracted... by some pennies dropping." He said it more to himself than Magnum and from the look on the other man's face, he was starting to wonder what in the world was going on. "Noelani just never mentioned you, that's all." 

"Oh." Magnum looked taken aback. And a little disappointed. "Well, I suppose she mightn't want to advertise that she's doing me favours off the books... you know, to the leader of the Five-0 task force and all.” 

Which was fair enough, as far as it went. It was just that it didn’t really go far enough. “Yeah.” Just then, Steve’s phone buzzed with a text message and when he pulled it out, he couldn’t help but grin. “Speak of the devil.” Opening up the text, he could hear Noelani’s voice as he read, “So how do you like driving a Ferrari?” followed by a winking emoji. 

Since said Ferrari was currently sitting in front of him with two flat tyres, waiting for a tow from a friend called Shammy (Steve wasn’t going there) he didn’t think twice about pressing the button to call her number. “Is Mrs Hong still there?” he asked without preamble and he got exactly the response he might have expected. 

“Hello to you too.” He didn’t need Magnum’s smirk to figure out that the other man had heard that. “And yes... I’m keeping her as long as I can. Are you still at her house?”

“We ran into a bit of trouble.” He grimaced, knowing that that could mean anything from what it did mean, being held at gunpoint, to something far more serious. “We’re fine... the Ferrari needs two new tyres.” 

“Oof.” He could picture Noelani’s face as she said the word, her brows drawn down in a frown, her nose scrunched up. “Tell Magnum I’m not telling Juliet about that.” 

Steve looked across at the other man, saw him nodding as he waved one hand dismissively, pulling out his own cell phone with the other. “Yeah, I think he’s about to do that right now,” he told her and there was a definite snicker on the other end of the line. 

“You never answered me... how was driving the Ferrari?” she asked him but he wasn’t going to be so easily distracted. 

“Very nice,” he said mildly. “But the ‘White Knight’ books? We need to talk.” 

She made a little humming noise and he’d bet every penny in his wallet that her lips were pressed together as she was fighting back a smile. “It wasn’t my secret to tell.” 

“Fair enough.” He admired loyalty. “But don’t think you’re not telling me all the details tonight.” 

“Steven...” She dragged at least seven extra syllables out of his full name and he knew enough by now to know that she was teasing him. Or flirting with him. There was a thin line between the two. Indeed, sometimes there was no line between the two. “Don’t tell me you’re still jealous.” 

He had a feeling she was remembering the last time they’d discussed the White Knight books and had he been jealous then? Fine, a little. But that was then, and of all the worries he had in his life at the moment, the state of his relationship with Noelani was not one of them. “I trust you,” was all he said to her, but she had a reply ready for that. 

“You can trust Magnum too, Steve,” she promised. “You’re probably going to want to kill him at some point-” He couldn’t help but snicker, that ship well and truly having sailed, but she didn’t let that put her off. “He’s great at what he does. Don’t let the attitude fool you... he’s a good person to have on your side.” 

“Well, if you’re on his side, he can’t be all bad.” Steve kept his voice low but he changed a quick glance in Magnum’s direction, saw the other man staring at him with a slack jawed expression on his face. “I think Juliet is filling him in about us.” 

Noelani laughed at that. “Be prepared for questions.” Steve rolled his eyes but then he heard someone talking on the other end of the line. “I have to go.” 

“Mrs Hong?” 

“That would be a good guess, Commander.” She was all business so he guessed Erin Hong was right beside her. “If you have any questions, you know where to find me.” 

“I’ll call you later,” he said, slightly less professional. “We’ll make plans for dinner. I hope.” 

“Excellent. Bye.” 

Wow. That was all business, unusually so even for Noelani. Pocketing his phone, he turned back to Magnum who was already off his call. “Noelani says hi,” he said and Magnum nodded, his face impassive. "Also that she's not telling your partner about the Ferrari."

"No, I took care of that." Magnum's lips twist into something that's caught squarely between a smile and a grimace. "She's not happy with me. But what's new?" That was said with a shrug and a smile and for a second, Steve almost thought that he was going to let the Noelani thing go. Then Magnum narrowed his eyes and that idea vanished as quickly as it had come. "So, you and Noelani?"

Steve leaned back against the hood of the Ferrari, crossing his arms over his chest. "Me and Noelani," he said. When Magnum didn't say anything, Steve cocked his head, raising his eyebrows. "What, that surprises you?" 

"A little." Steve was stung at that, he had to admit, but Magnum wasn't done. "I mean, Noelani is awesome. Way out of your league, frankly." 

Magnum was smiling when he said it, but the fact that Steve agreed wholeheartedly with the sentiment made him chuckle and he nodded, rubbing a hand over his chin. "I happen to agree with you," he said and Magnum blinked in obvious surprise. "On both counts." 

The other man actually looked impressed, like he hadn't expected Steve to take the comment seriously. "I didn't even know she was seeing anyone," he said. "Is it new?" 

Steve didn't have to do the math. "About eight months now," he said and he had the pleasure of seeing Magnum do an obvious double take. 

"So it's serious?" 

Steve thought back over the last eight months, everything they'd gone through together to get to where they were now. "Yeah, man, we're serious." When he looked back at Magnum, the other man was still staring at him, almost thoughtfully. "What, is this where you say you're gonna kick my ass if I hurt her?" 

"I would never say that." Magnum almost sounded like he meant it. "I wouldn't give you the advance warning."

Steve snickered at that. "Thanks, man. But I don't think we're gonna need your services." Just then, a tow truck turned the corner, heading towards them. "This your guy?" 

Magnum was already grinning. "Sure is." There was another car behind the tow truck and Magnum's grin widened when he saw it. "And a ride for us. Sweet." He clapped Steve on the back. "Let's go." 


	3. Chapter 3

Knowing the Five-0 crew by reputation and Magnum’s gang as he did, when Katsumoto heard that warrants were out for Tani Rey and Quinn Liu, knowing that Magnum and Higgins had helped them out the previous day, he played a hunch and went to Robin’s Nest. Sure enough, it was a good bet - Tani Rey’s car was sitting in front of the door where anyone could see it and Katsumoto hid a grin as he knocked on the door. 

Of course, Magnum tried to BS his way out of it but Katsumoto wasn’t having any of it, talked his way into the room and within moments he’d been read into the current state of affairs. 

Tani Rey was pacing back and forth, wearing a path into the carpet and Katsumoto didn’t miss how every eye in the place was darting furtively in her direction. So no-one missed it when she stopped walking, when her face, already pale, grew even paler. “Oh no.” 

"What?" Higgins looked at her sharply. "What is it?"

Tani looked over at Quinn, then back to Higgins. "There's someone else who should know about this. Someone we haven’t thought of.”

Higgins frowned but then her face cleared. At the same time, Quinn looked heavenward, muttered a curse under her breath. "Noelani," they said together. 

Rick and TC looked at the two of them, confusion written on both their faces. Katsumoto, on the other hand, suddenly remembered some of the whispers around the HPD water cooler that he tried very hard to never listen to, and the ladies' reactions made perfect sense to him. "Noelani?" Rick asked. "You mean, our Noelani?" 

"What's she got to do with this?" TC asked and Tani rubbed her forehead, her other hand on her hip. 

"She’s McGarrett’s girlfriend.” The looks on Rick and TC’s faces would have been comical if the situation wasn’t so serious. “They've been a thing for months now," she continued, shaking her head. "She must be going out of her mind." 

"I can go talk to her," Rick volunteered, but Katsumoto held up a hand. 

"I'll do it," he said. Rick opened his mouth to protest but Katsumoto kept right on going. "Look, people know about her relationship with McGarrett. I knew about her relationship with McGarrett. For all we know, the CIA have eyes on her, in case he told her anything." It was a slim chance, given the timeline, but a chance nonetheless. If he were CIA, he'd be playing every card he had. "If any of you show up to talk to her, it raises questions. A police detective showing up at the ME's office, on the other hand?" 

"Katsumoto's right, Rick." Higgins's voice was quiet, but firm. "It's better if he goes." She met Katsumoto's gaze. "Tell her we're doing everything we can to find the list, find Junior and get the rest of them out." 

Katsumoto nodded. "Will do."

When he arrived at Noelani's office, he pushed open the door carefully, feeling almost guilty when she visibly startled, putting her cellphone on her desk face down. "Detective Katsumoto," she said, a slight frown appearing on her face as she stood. "How can I help you?" She glanced across the room, through the window into her autopsy room, almost like she was cataloguing each body in each drawer, trying to figure out who was in each one, what case they were tied to. None of them were his and as she looked back at him then, her frown deepening, she must have realised that. Katsumoto held up his hand, stepping into the room and closing the door behind him. 

"I'm not here on a case, Doctor Cunha," he said. "I'm here about Steve McGarrett."

Too late he realised how that sounded, and only when every scrap of colour leeched from her face and she swayed on her feet, her hand reaching out to grip the table. He'd seen the look on her face on far too many widows' faces during notification visits, and with a man in McGarrett's line of work, he knew what she must be thinking. "Noelani, no. No." He crossed the room quickly, hands closing on her elbows and moving her gently back towards her chair. She all but collapsed into it, visibly trembling and he squatted down in front of her. "He's okay, all right? McGarrett’s okay."

“He’s alive?” 

Katsumoto had been doing this job a long time, had delivered bad news plenty of times. It never got any easier, especially when it was someone that he knew. Especially when the fear in Noelani's eyes tugged at his heartstrings. “Yes, he’s alive.”

“You’re sure?”

“I’m sure.”

She raised a shaking hand to her lips, her eyes huge. "What happened?"

"During their case yesterday, they came into possession of a CIA NOC list. That’s-"

"Non Official Cover." He was surprised that she knew that and it must have shown on his face because the ghost of a smile flitted across hers. "The White Knight books," she said and he nodded, fighting a smile. Since making Magnum’s acquaintance, he’d read one or two of them himself. 

"Seems the list is in demand... someone kidnapped Junior Reigns, is blackmailing Five-0 for it." Noelani's jaw dropped. "The CIA tried to round them all up late last night, they don’t want that list getting out because it’ll burn everyone on it. They’re keeping Five-0 in custody so they can’t make a deal.” 

Noelani got it straight away. “But that means whoever has Junior... they’ll kill him.” 

Katsumoto sighed. “Yeah. McGarrett managed to get word to Tani Rey, she got out of the building. Quinn Liu wasn’t there at the time, Tani grabbed her up and the two of them went to Robin’s Nest. Magnum and Higgins are helping them find the list... they figure once they have that, they can trade it for Junior, but warn everyone on it first. The deadline is noon.” They both looked at the clock on the wall, saw that that was a little under two hours away. 

Noelani’s face was still pale, her breathing shallow. “He was supposed to come over last night,” she said. “I thought they’d just caught a case and he couldn’t call... it was only when I couldn’t get through to anyone this morning...” She clamped her mouth shut and he could almost see her trying to pull herself together. “I’m sorry. What can I do to help?” 

“Honestly? Nothing.” Anger flashed over her face and Katsumoto steeled himself for a fight. “Noelani, I’m here instead of Rick or TC because if McGarrett won’t give up the list and the CIA suspect he might have passed it on to someone, everyone close to him is a potential target. They came after Tani with guns." He watched the realisation play over her face, saw her swallow hard. "I’ve only met McGarrett a couple of times, but I’m willing to bet he wouldn’t take too kindly to you being used as a pawn to get him to talk.” 

Noelani’s shudder was visible and Katsumoto suddenly remembered the circumstances around John McGarrett's death, wondered if she was thinking of that too. "No," she whispered. Another shuddering breath and then she drew herself up. "So you're telling me I need to act as if nothing is wrong? Continue with my day as planned?"

"That would be the best thing. We'll keep you in the loop, let you know what we find."

"You promise?" 

Katsumoto didn't hesitate. "I promise." 


	4. Chapter 4

The sense of relief that hit Steve when he pulled up outside his house was enough to make his knees weak. Banishing every bit of adrenaline that had been left in his system, tiredness hit him like a wave and it was all he could do to drag his feet up the path and slide the key into the door. 

What he saw when he stepped inside woke him back up. 

It was pretty obvious the place had been tossed. Couch cushions were haphazardly strewn here and there, books were scattered about and looking into the study, he could see his desk was messier than he’d ever left it. Recognizing the hallmarks of a CIA search, he fought back a groan, something that was made a lot easier by the sounds of a friendly yip and four paws scrabbling across the floor towards him. 

Eddie’s paws were on his chest an instant later, the dog all but smiling as he licked Steve’s face in a frenzy of welcome. Steve grinned, rubbing the dog’s head. “Yeah, buddy, it’s me... you ok, huh? They didn’t hurt you?” 

Steve had often said that Eddie could practically speak. But the soft exhale of breath he heard couldn’t have possibly come from the dog. 

His head snapped up and in the back of his mind, he knew he should be reaching for his gun, which was currently locked securely in the office. His hand didn’t move from Eddie’s head though and when he looked up, he knew why. Because he’d recognised that voice, that gasp, and it was a very welcome intruder. 

Noelani was standing between the study and the living room, holding onto the wall so tightly that her knuckles were white, as if it were the only thing holding her up. Her eyes were huge and dark, her lips slightly parted as she stared at him, looking like she couldn’t believe that he was really there. 

“Noelani.” 

Her name was the exhale of a breath on his lips, a breath he hadn’t even realised he was holding. And then she wasn’t across the room any more, somehow they’d managed to meet one another halfway, her arms around his neck, his face buried in her hair as he lifted her off the ground. He felt her body tremble against his and it made him hold her tighter, made him close his eyes and breathe her in deeply, made him appreciate, not for the first time, how lucky he was. 

He could have held her like that forever, but he really wanted to see her face, wanted to kiss her even more. So he set her down gently, cupping her face in his hands. There was a faint shimmer of tears in her eyes and his stomach twisted painfully at the sight. “I’m okay,” he promised her. “They didn’t do anything to me.” Apart from ask question after question, over and over again, but for a man who’d been trained to withstand torture and interrogation, who’d been waterboarded and worse, who’d spent the better part of a decade with Danny Williams yammering in his ear, the day had been a cakewalk. 

The hardest part had been knowing that she didn’t know any of that, and consequently imagining how worried she must have been. 

“I know.” Her fingers played with the buttons of his shirt as she looked down. “But I still worried.” 

“I know.” He tilted her head up, his thumb sweeping a path up and down her cheek. “And I’m sorry.”

She sucked in a shuddering breath, looked around the room. “I was trying to tidy up,” she started but he cut her off with a shake of his head. 

“Leave it,” he said and the surprise on her face would have made him laugh at any other time. Tonight, though, he had other things on his mind. “You know what I spent most of the day thinking about?” 

One of his hands moved down her back, his index finger tracing the column of her spine. It may have given her an idea. She still tilted her head and, with a mischievous twinkle in her eye, asked, “Drinks with the gang at La Mariana?” 

She was teasing, but Quinn had actually called him on his way home, letting him in on the plans. He hadn’t hesitated in taking a rain check, in hopes that Noelani would come over to his place instead. Finding her already there had been a bonus. 

Instead of replying in kind, he was very serious as he pressed her body closer to his. “I kept thinking about my beautiful girlfriend...” He kissed her right cheek gently. “Holding her in my arms...” A kiss to her left cheek. “In my bed...” He kissed her forehead. “Making love to her...” His lips pressed against hers and she responded enthusiastically, winding her fingers through his hair, not protesting in the slightest as he lifted her, her legs wrapping around his waist as he easily carried her up the stairs to make good on his words. 

La Mariana, he decided, could definitely wait. 

A long time later, as they both slowly came back to themselves, her head was pillowed on his shoulder, his fingers tracing idle patterns down along her spine. Her hand was moving across his chest, just over his heart when a shudder, not the pleasant kind, rippled through her body. Steve noticed it immediately, looked down into her eyes, finding them far too dark and serious for what they’d just been doing. 

“What’s wrong?” he asked quietly, and he received a trembling smile for his answer. 

“Magnum and Juliet sent Detective Katsumoto to tell me about you,” she told him quietly. “He looked so serious... for a second, I thought...” 

She stopped abruptly, like she couldn’t even bear to finish the thought, but she didn’t have to. He knew what she was going to say, knew what would have gone through her mind. The look in her eyes broke his heart and he did the only thing he knew how to do, leaned down and brought his lips to hers. 

“I’m sorry,” he said again.

This time, she shook her head. “It wasn’t your fault,” she said. “And I know it comes with the territory and you can’t promise it’ll never happen again.” Another shudder ran the length of her body but he couldn’t deny the truth in her words. “But I was thinking... maybe we could both take the day tomorrow? Spend some time together?” 

Steve didn’t even have to think about his reply. “Yeah,” he said and the smile that lit up her face was worth everything. “Yeah, we can do that.” 

Her smile turned suddenly impish. “But it’s not tomorrow yet...” 

The way she moved against him left him in no doubt as to her meaning. 

“No, it’s not,” he said, pulling her close and fitting her body against his, making the most of the rest of the night. 


End file.
